The Annie Oakley® Perfumery in Ligonier, Indiana, has partnered with the Gene Stratton-Porter Memorial Society to offer “Wisteria,” a new natural fragrance that was introduced at the 2013 celebration of the Indiana author’s 150th birthday. The fragrance is now available at the gift shop of the Gene Stratton-Porter State Historic Site in Rome City, which recently opened for the season at 1205 Pleasant Point, Rome City, Indiana.

“Wisteria” was created by perfumer Renee Gabet, founder of Annie Oakley®, with inspiration from Stratton-Porter’s beloved wisteria vines in her formal gardens at Wildflower Woods (see photo above), a focal point at the 123-acre State Historic Site. “The scent captures light florals, fresh lake breezes and more spicy notes from the locust arbor framed by the wisteria that Gene planted nearly 100 years ago,” according to Gabet. She said the “beautiful and fragrant blooms are in full glory and enchant visitors each spring,” typically blooming in early May.

Guests to the historic site can now take home the memory of Stratton-Porter’s beloved wisteria bushes in the form of either a perfume spray or a perfuming body crème developed by Annie Oakley®. “The scent can be worn by anyone and has a wonderful lingering effect without overpowering, making ‘Wisteria’ a perfect treat for yourself or a lovely present for a friend,” Gabet said.

The partnership between Annie Oakley® and the Gene Stratton-Porter Memorial Society began in August 2013, when “Wisteria” was introduced at the author’s 150th birthday celebration during the annual Chautauqua Days in Rome City. Gabet says the partnership between her perfumery and the memorial society will continue as additional fragrances are created for an entire Wildflower Woods collection. “I couldn’t be more proud to work with the Gene Stratton-Porter Memorial Society to develop a fragrance based on another strong-willed, independent woman like Annie Oakley, for whom my perfumery is named.”

Gene Stratton-Porter (1863-1924) is Indiana’s most widely-read female author who wrote such favorites as A Girl of the Limberlost and Freckles. She was also known as a naturalist and a gifted nature photographer. Her career started with her writing about nature for magazines, but she soon turned to fiction to share stories based on her experiences living among the woodlands and wetlands of northeastern Indiana. In her lifetime, Stratton-Porter authored 12 novels, seven nature studies, three poetry books, children’s books, and a number of magazine articles. Eight of her novels were produced as motion pictures.

Her cabin at Wildflower Woods near Rome City is situated on the shores of Sylvan Lake among 123 acres of fields, woods and beautiful formal gardens. Wildflower Woods has been turned into Gene Stratton-Porter State Historic Site that is open to the public from April 1 to December 1 each year, with hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

The Gene Stratton-Porter Memorial State Historic Site offers hourly tours of the naturalist’s cabin, occasional nature tours, educational programming and other events, as well as an onsite gift shop. The store sells a variety of gift items, including the new nature-inspired Wisteria perfume by Annie Oakley® that is sold exclusively at the gift shop. The spray perfume retails for $30, the perfuming body crème for $15, and a traveler spray is available for $5.

All proceeds from the Gene Stratton Memorial gift shop sales are used to support future educational programming, gardens and grounds maintenance, and restoration and other projects at the historic site. Gene Stratton-Porter Memorial Society members receive a 10 percent discount on all gift shop purchases when showing their GSPMS membership cards. Click here for more information on the memorial society, or call 260-854-3790.

Annie Oakley® is a family-owned business that was founded in 1980 by perfumer/ entrepreneur Renee Gabet. The company can be traced back to Gabet’s home in northern Indiana, where she, along with her husband and five children, began mixing perfumes in their family kitchen and shipping orders from their front porch. Annie Oakley® soon moved to its own manufacturing facility with a mission to create world-class perfumes in the heartland of America. The perfumery continues to be a family venture, with Renee, her husband Chuck, and other family members overseeing the operation.

Annie Oakley® has grown from a home-based business to a world-class perfumery selling millions of its various products, which include natural and organic fragrances, along with pure essential oils and body products. Annie Oakley Enterprises has become an American success story. In 2011, the firm opened The Annie Oakley Perfumery Studio to provide tourists to northern Indiana’s Amish country with a rare opportunity to view a perfumery operation and learn how Annie Oakley® fragrances are created, blended and bottled. The company was named 2012 Innovator of the Year for Northeast Indiana by KPC Media Group and has been featured on national tourism websites and blogs.

Annie Oakley™ products are sold nationally and internationally through more than 1,000 retail locations. Its fragrances are offered in Paradies airport Shops and in partnership with independent retailers across the country. For more information, visit www.AnnieOakley.com or call 260-894-7219.